AFTERNOON
GENERAL SESSION
1:30-3:00
AFTERNOON
GENERAL SESSION
1:30-3:00
BLACK SUNDAY IN THE BRONX: JANUARY 23, 2005
Firefighter Jeff Cool, FDNY
Jeff Cool, a retired
veteran firefighter of the F.D.N.Y. Rescue 3 and a advocate for firefighter
safety will talk about his near death experience after being forced to bail out
of a fourth story window during a three alarm blaze that has since become know
as “Black Sunday.”
As a major snow storm swept through the New York area on
January 23, 2005, firefighters were called to an apartment fire at 236 East 178
Street in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx about 8:00 am. First
arriving units encountered fire on the third floor of a four story multiple
dwelling.
As units went about their assignments, crews continued to
search for extension.
Crews reported a loss of water pressure as they
searched the fire floor in the building which had undergone several illegal
renovations.
Conditions changed rapidly and fast moving flames forced
several firefighters to jump to the ground some forty feet below.
Four firefighters received life changing injuries,
while Lieutenant Curtis Meyran and Firefighter John Bellew were killed.
Jeff Cool will present a timeline of the events that
contributed to the outcome of this tragic fire. This presentation will feature
radio transmissions from the fireground and first hand accounts from Jeff Cool
as he and his fellow firefighters were overtaken by a fast moving fire and low
water pressure. Learn what construction features contributed to this tragic loss
of two firefighters and what to look for at building fires to protect yourself.
